Burglary at Redlands storage facility is lesson in property protection

Steve Cannon lifted the door of his Redlands storage locker in October to find his belongings ransacked. Tools handed down from generation to generation were gone, almost $30,000 in loss.

Cannon was one of eight locals who say their long-term storage units were burglarized at the end of September. Cannon kept his belongings at the Extra Space Storage on Alabama Street.

"Now I just want to get the word out there, if it would help other people out," he said.

A manager at the Alabama Street Extra Space Storage, who asked not to be named because he was not authorized by the company to speak to the media, said that he has been encouraging renters to purchase discus padlocks because they are harder to pick or to sever with bolt cutters.

A spokesman from the national Extra Space Storage chain did not respond to questions about the incident.

"Lots of people put cheap locks on those things and crooks just pick them or cut them," said Carl Baker, Redlands Police Department Spokesman.

Cannon said it appeared as if someone had picked his MasterLock, stolen the items, closed the door and replaced the lock.

"The only way I found out was I was told by an employee who had noticed my lock was not on properly," Cannon said, adding that like many there he formerly only checked on the unit once a month when he went by to pay his rent.

Baker added that people wanting to protect their property can take several simple steps to secure their belongings.

"No. 1, you want to find a storage facility where they have security measures already in place such as lights, gates and cameras," Baker said.

However, as Cannon pointed out, a crook can always find a way in, possibly already having a key for the facility or by renting a nearby unit.

"Then the second thing to do is make sure that you've got a good lock," Baker said.

Local locksmith David Page of Page Locksmiths suggested looking for a lock with five pins or more and added that American brand locks have the tightest tolerances he's seen.

"Some are easier to pick than others," Page said, adding that the discus-type padlocks that Extra Space Storage has been suggesting to its customers are not the easiest to pick, "but it's not impossible for a skilled crook to pick it either," he said.

"The more pins you have in your locks, the better," Page added.

Beyond the locks, the best way to protect your belongings is to write down serial numbers and take photos, Baker said. Local law enforcement uses that information to match stolen items to items seen in pawn shops, during routine traffic stops and on CraigsList.

"People often pawn this stuff," Baker said of stolen property. "The pawn shops give us the serial numbers of items that come in so we can match them to police reports."

The matching is all done by local volunteers who sift through piles of pawn shop photos and serial numbers looking for a match.

"Even if we don't have a serial number, we might be able to match it to a photo," Baker said.

Another source of stolen property is routine traffic stops.

"Quite often you see piles of items in the car that are not theirs," Baker said. "During a traffic stop the person might have their car loaded up with 20 DVD players, and that is suspicious."

However, Baker adds that he has seen far too many cases when property might have been recovered if only the owners had serial numbers handy to positively identify the item.

Redlands police also extend their search beyond city limits, recognizing that crooks often take items out of the area.

According to Baker, local law enforcement uses a regional computer database to track stolen items across city and county lines.

Finally, locals who have had property stolen are asked to watch CraigsList and other online listings for items that might match the description of what they lost.

"People here have seen their property for sale on CraigsList," Baker said.

In one case, the police arranged with the seller to look at a bike that was identified by a burglary victim.

"We stopped a whole ring this way and found other property stolen through this guy," Baker said.

Although Cannon is still waiting to hear word on his family's tools, he said he hopes that by sharing his experience others will take precautions in the future.